Bradley Beal trade and 5 other regrettable Suns moves James Jones botched

3. Drafting Jalen Smith

Nobody expected Smith to be a top-ten selection in the 2020 NBA Draft. Only a few projected him to be taken in the lottery, but James Jones took a shot on the athletic 6’10 forward out of Maryland. He was a two-way force with a developing jumper in his two college seasons, but it never translated in Phoenix.

Smith played just 156 minutes as a rookie where he averaged 2.0 points and 1.4 rebounds each night. He was so disappointing that the Suns declined his third-year player option before trading him to the Pacers with a second-round pick for Torrey Craig.

Do not write the 24-year-old off completely. He has shown some flashes but looks locked in as a bench big man moving forward. The Suns hoped for more from the tenth overall pick, but the players left on the board take this from bad to worse for James Jones.

The Suns passed on Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Devin Vassell, Immanuel Quickley, and Desmond Bane to take Smith. There was a ton of talent on the board, but Phoenix selected a big man who was all but dumped after one season. Jones and the Suns should not have taken Smith if they did not have a plan to develop him. It was wild the franchise showed zero patience, which made this his worst move before new owner Mat Ishbia came on board.